Northern Michigan Kids: 1st Annual Young Playwrights Festival

Northern Michigan Kids: Curtains please! It’s time for the first annual Young Playwrights Festival! Six one act plays, written by area youths, performed by Traverse City area performers and directed by local directors in affiliation with Old Town Playhouse will come alive at the City Opera House in Traverse City at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 20th.

In a region filled with talented writers, the first annual Young Playwright Festival offers a great opportunity for Northern Michigan’s creative youth writers to get involved and be rewarded, and for others to get inspired.

Back in November, Northern Michigan high school students wrote and submitted scripts for one act plays. Out of thirty entrants, six finalists were selected by a juried panel, and now have the chance to see their one act plays produced and performed by local directors and actors up on stage at the City Opera House.

The six finalists, whose plays will be produced on May 20th, were paired with theatre mentors from professional theaters and organizations. Mentors helped students work on their plays for a period of four to five weeks, with the goal of educating students in the art of playwriting. These revised plays were submitted to directors for production, with a grand finale of the students’ plays performed on stage for parents, friends, family and mentors to enjoy.